MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Bob Huggins did not sit around and wait for his players to learn from mistakes Friday.
During the 94-84 season-opening win against Akron, Huggins began the game with sophomore Jordan McCabe at point guard and with freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe next to Derek Culver down low.
By the end, freshman Miles McBride was manning the point and senior Logan Routt was running alongside Culver.
“We need to not do what we can’t do. It’s about us. It’s not about me,” Huggins said. “You get those guys talking — and I probably did it a little bit, too (as a player) — ‘Well, I got taken out for making one mistake.’ No, you were taken out because you went in there and did what I told you not to do.”
Huggins used the same strategy in last week’s exhibition game against Duquesne, when he sat out McCabe, Culver and Chase Harler for much of the second half.
“I got the message,” said Culver, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds against Akron. “I needed to go out and play harder than what I was. I was taking plays off before and not hustling as much as I should have. It’s hard to get better as a player when you’re doing those things.”
Foul trouble and taking bad shots hurt Tshiebwe early on.
McCabe finished with three assists and no turnovers, but Huggins said he felt the team responded better with McBride in the game.
“We’re trying to win,” Huggins said. “When you’re trying to win, you’re going to put the people out there that you think give you the best chance to win. There are going to be a lot of times when (McCabe) gives us the best chance to win.”
Huggins mixed and matched his lineups throughout the game, beginning with the bigger lineup of Culver and Tshiebwe, but then also using a smaller lineup that featured guard Jermaine Haley at power forward, along with two guards and small forward Emmitt Matthews Jr.
“I think coach is going to make a lot of substitutions on the fly to be sure,” said Haley, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. “Guys have got to go in and do what they do well and try not to do too much. Not everybody is going to score, rebound and pass the ball. If you can rebound, then go in there and get 10 rebounds. If you pass the ball, go pass the ball. I think guys are going to start filling in a lot of different roles for this team quickly.”
Huggins said he believes the Mountaineers’ best chance to win in March is with the bigger lineup, even though the smaller lineup produced better results against the Zips (1-1).
“I’m trying to leave (the bigger lineup) out there, but I’m not going to lose to leave them out there,” Huggins said. “Our best lineup, particularly with who we were playing, was to go with just the one big and four smaller guys.”
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